a writer's give and take

Review: The Alpha Plague

The Alpha Plague is an apocalyptic survival thriller done right. Working well as a stand-alone though in actuality the first of a series, this novel covers just the first few hours of a viral plague:

The Blurb:

Rhys is an average guy who works as average job in Summit City–a purpose built government complex on the outskirts of London. The Alpha Tower stands in the center of the city. An enigma, nobody knows what happens behind its dark glass. Rhys is about to find out. At ground zero and with chaos spilling out into the street, Rhys has the slightest of head starts. If he can remain ahead of the pandemonium, then maybe he can get to his loved ones before the plague does.

Falling within the broader category of zombie apocalypses, this take is toward the rage spectrum of 28 Days Later rather than the lumbering Walking Dead variety, which makes it all the worse for Rhys and his kick-ass partner-by-circumstance Vicky in his quest to escape Summit City and save his 6 y.o. son, Flynn, who’s at school some miles away.

Rhys and Vicky are fallible protagonists with limited resources, but courage and determination worthy of rooting for in this non-stop action thriller.

Author Michael Robertson is a writer of dark post apocalyptic fiction, horror, and science fiction. He’s been writing for over fifteen years and has been published in several anthologies and magazines, as well as being published by HarperCollins.

His most popular series is his Crash series. It’s a dark look at the apocalypse, brought about by financial collapse rather than a zombie plague. The Alpha Plague is a much more traditional post apocalyptic story inspired by 28 Days Later.

He has plans for several science fiction books and is currently writing the first draft of New Reality 3: Fear, which will finish off his New Reality series.

As a father of two young children, he writes when he can, which is mostly before they get up and after they’ve gone to bed. He loves reading, writing, watching movies, and spending time with his family.